Nip Tuck

It was around this time last year that I started giving serious consideration to going under the knife.

Following a pretty horrific accident, my nose has bothered me more than ever.

It is ridiculous though because there is nothing visibly wrong to anyone else, yet on a daily basis I scrutinize its appearance.

I’ve managed to convince myself that it is wonky and dabbled with scars.

When I do finally manage to think like a reasonable human being however, it is obvious that the only scars I have are psychological.

Subconsciously I feel that people are examining my face and the damage that was caused. In response I automatically cover the problem area as best I can.

I’m a rather self-conscious person anyway so this complex I have just makes it worse at times.

A large part of it is the discomfort I feel on occasion.

My nose is clinically disfigured and whenever I get a headache my nose feels it too. It pulsates.

In fact, it often feels as though it has doubled, maybe even tripled in size and this is no exaggeration. It is even tender to touch most of the time.

But is rhinoplasty really an option?

Our attitudes to cosmetic surgery in general are changing rapidly.

According to research carried out by various bodies, including the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, there will be an estimated 690,000 procedures undertaken this year. (Thanks to the Daily Mail for this information).

The idea of surgery itself is a relatively daunting one and no doubt painful.

A nose job costs anything from £4,500 to £6,000 and there are two possible methods, one of which will leave slight scarring.

When you wake from the surgery, which can last up to three hours, its highly likely that you will look and feel as though you have gone ten rounds in a ring with Mike Tyson. It will also take up to six months before your true profile will be seen.

Besides all the money, time and pain, it isn’t always certain that the results will be exactly what you want.

So why is it that so many people are content to spend so much in the quest for ‘perfection’?

Society places such a huge emphasis on an unattainable idea of perfection.

The size zero, botoxed, nipped and tucked celebrities that we see in the press, on our TVs, on our billboards, everywhere aren’t as perfect as they are made out to be.

They have gone under the knife and they are an outrageous size of skinny.
They aren’t perfect – they have been constructed. Put together like cloned machines.

Furthermore, size zero simply connotes ‘nothing’ to me and to be honest I’d much rather be ‘something’.

I can learn to live with my imperfections because ultimately, they are who I am.
They are signs that I am an individual and if we’re going to be deep, they are signs that I am a perfect version of me.